A fighter from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) sits at a back of a truck, near the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, in Syria March 9, 2019. Picture taken March 9, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said

BAGHOUZ, Syria (Reuters) - The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an assault on Sunday against the final Islamic State enclave in eastern Syria, aiming to wipe out the last vestige of its self-declared "caliphate" that once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria.

Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces ride on trucks as their convoy passes in Ain Issa, Syria October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro/File Photo

QAMISHLI, Syria (Reuters) - The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will start an assault on Saturday against Islamic State's last enclave in the part of Syria where a U.S.-led coalition has been supporting operations against the group, an SDF official told Reuters.

The war in Afghanistan, America's first and most enduring foray into the Forever Wars, continues to go poorly, according to a quarterly report to Congress from the Special Inspector General Report for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) published on April 30. And while the Pentagon seems convinced that the tide is definitely turning (any minute now!), here's how the first few months of 2018 have shaped up: